Introduction
Over the next several weeks, I will be offering excerpts from my book Mystic Activism to provide the reader with an understanding of the concepts and practices discussed in this book
In this excerpt, I describe how I am using the word mysticism, which stands at the heart of this book. Mysticism takes many forms and includes different religious and personal practices. The form of mysticism discussed in the book largely centers on the views of Quaker philosopher and mystic, Rufus Jones. For him, mysticism prepares and equips us to work for social justice in our society.
What is Mysticism
When I speak of mysticism, I am talking about the conscious and deliberate practices through which people strengthen their relationship with God and deepen their awareness of God’s leading and participation in their lives. Depending on the theological tradition one comes from, this process may be called spiritual formation, spiritual growth, discipleship, or sanctification. Traditionally, the deepening and developing of one’s spirituality is conceived as an inward-focused process whereby individuals seek to discover and strengthen their sense of God’s leading and presence in their personal lives. The practices for the inward journey consist of things such as Contemplation, Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, and study of the Bible and other sacred texts.
The inward journey provides more than a beautiful and holy encounter with God. According to Quaker mystic Rufus Jones, a genuine inward encounter with God “always leads to good works in the world … Mystical union with the incarnate God, far from separating us from daily life, situates us squarely in the world.” The inward practices empower and sustain us in our work for social change, and our work for social change informs the content and context of our prayer, contemplation, worship, and other spiritual practices. Rather than being opposites, the inner and outer world inform and feed each other. The inner and outer journeys are not simply about knowing more but also about nurturing our experience of the Divine and strengthening our efforts for social change.
According to Jones, mysticism is “the type of religion that puts the emphasis on immediate awareness of relation with God, on direct and intimate consciousness of the Divine presence.” Mysticism is not knowing more about God but about knowing God more. It is not treating God as an object of speculation but instead having a relationship with God that goes beyond rationality to what has been called “the Beyond within.” This inner experience of God has the power to move and sustain us to work for social change.
The social change at the center of this book is overcoming and deconstructing racial injustice and white supremacy in our lives and our society at large. I am calling for those of us who claim to follow the example and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to engage in spiritual practices to inform and strengthen our active commitment to racial justice; I am calling for us to become mystic activists for racial justice. While this book is written from a Christian perspective, many other religious traditions include spiritual practices similar to those discussed here. Mysticism, too, is part of several traditions. Whatever our spiritual heritage, we have much to learn from and share.
My underlying assumption throughout this book is that our battle to overcome and deconstruct white supremacy requires us to research, devise strategies, and prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically to take action and to draw on the spiritual resources God provides through the Spirit and the example of Jesus.,
Jones emphasized the idea that religion is something to be experienced, rather than intellectualized. He defined mysticism as “the type of religion that puts the emphasis on immediate awareness of relation with God, on direct and intimate consciousness of the Divine presence.”] Jones was also deeply committed to social justice and believed that a commitment to a personal religious experience carried with it a connection to the divine power that was able to address real issues affecting people of all races and stations of life. Jones modelled the belief that all material issues—such as politics, poverty, war, and civil rights—are grounded in spirituality. “